Aquatan Lining Systems – where PI is second nature

What do they do     A civil engineering company that installs dam linings and geomembranes
Using PI since        1981?
No. of employees   103
Primary use of PI   Recruitment of new staff
PI as company culture    After 27+ years of use, PI is second nature to the MD and although limited to recruitment, it is used in a way that is highly effective for this company.

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When Piet Meyer, now the Managing Director of Aquatan, joined the company in 1981, the company was already using the Predictive Index. He was trained in PI at the start and he is effectively the owner of PI knowledge at the company. We've found that at Aquatan, PI has become second nature and one of the most obvious effects of this is a staff turnover of less than 2% per annum.

The owner of PI knowledge at Aquatan is the MD, who acknowledges that PI is used here purely for recruitment. But what is notable is how much a part of the culture PI has become at Aquatan.

“PI is a very important factor in our lives. We don’t employ someone whose profile doesn’t match what we’re looking for,” says the MD. His years of experience with the company mean that he simply knows the best profiles – the best talent specifications – for the job, without needing to map it out with the aid of the PI PRO (performance requirements objectives).

Meyer is typical of leaders for whom the application of PI is second nature. They are the CEOs or MDs of smaller companies who are usually involved in the appointment of all key personnel.

Apart from being closely involved with key appointments, the MD also has the advantage of running a business that manages short-term projects. This means he receives immediate feedback on performance as deadlines, costs and quality are always being measured by management and clients. So the MD is constantly able to confirm the suitability of the profiles of his managers for the work.

In larger organisations managers often don’t receive such immediate and objective feedback. Managers of different units may also not be concerned only with key positions as there is a greater variety of positions within the organisation to deal with. They might effectively be cushioned from the impact of variations in performance on productivity and profitability. The challenge here is to keep them as in touch with the relationship between performance and people as the MD at Aquatan is.

The use of PI at Aquatan, while limited, has become an intrinsic part of the MD’s thinking, and understanding of his people. It’s a subconscious element of his management style and, in a company where staff turnover is less than 2% per annum, it’s clear that the organisational culture is highly effective.